Device for dampening cigar-boxes.



PATBNTED AUG. 4, 1903.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16. 1902.

R0 MODEL.

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PATENT Farce.

GEORGE D. WOODWORTH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEOPOLD LEWISHEIM, OF NEW YORK,- N. Y.

DEVICE FOR DAMPENING CIGAR-BOXES.

$?EGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,648, dated August 4, 1903.

Application filed December 16, 1902. Serial No. 135,365. (No model.)

1'0 all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. WOOD- WORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Dampening Cigar-Boxes, of which the (following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same.

The invention which forms the subject of this application relates to devices for attach-v ment to the lid or other convenient part ofa cigar-box adapted to hold means for supplying moisture to the contents of the box. Numerous devices have been put upon the market for accomplishing the same result, but, so far as I am aware, none is known which embodies the convenient features which characterize the present invention.

The invention consists, essentially, of a receptacle formed, preferably, from a single blank, having means for engaging the lid and means also for engaging a side of the cigar-box, whereby the lid is held closed by frictional engagement of such parts.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows in plan the. blank from which my moistener is preferably made. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the receptacle. 7 Fig. 3 is a side view of the device in use, the lid and side of the box to which it is applied being in section. Fig. 4 is a front view of the device in use. 7

In the preferred form of my invention I take a piece of sheet metalof convenient size and form it, by stamping or other means, as g in Fig. 1. In addition to having the general contour there shown the blank has tongues 1 and 2 cut therein, connected to the blank at their lower ends. Openings are cut in the blank at 3, 4, 5, and 6 or any other convenient points to furnish open spaces through which the water-soaked absorbent within the receptacle may evaporate, and thereby keep the cigars or tobacco in the desired condition. At the lower end of the blank there is usually formed an integral prong 7, for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. The blank having been cut out, as above described, its parts are folded along the dotted lines of Fig. 1,so that the parts 8, 9, 10, and 11 when bent upright constitute the side walls of the receptacle, 'as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The parts 12 and 13 are then bent until they are in a position parallel to the bottom, as in Fig. 2, thereby constituting the substantially closed top ofthe device. Under some circumstances it may be desirable in order to furnish additional openings for evaporation into the interior ofthe cigar-box to cut away the corners of the parts 12 and 13, thereby. forming triangular spaces 14 15 when the receptacle is finished. The part 16 of the blank is now bent as shown in Fig. 3, the section 17 extending in line with the top formed by the portions 12 and 13 to an extent approximately equal to the thickness of the box-wall. The section 18 is bent at right angles to the former, and the remainder 19 is bent backward and parallel to the first section 17. The parts justdescribed thus form a socket which engages the lid of the box when the moistening-receptacle is placed thereon, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The lug 7 may now be pressed firmly into the lid, thus securing the device in position. The blanksl and 2 are intended to provide means for engaging the side of the box, as in- Figs. 3 and 4, and for this purpose are bent downward, as there shown, and slightly toward each other,so that when they are pressed down over the side wall they will grasp the same with a frictional contact of some firmness.

The device may be filled with absorbent material, such as pieces of blotting-paper, before the top sections 12 and 13 are bent into position, or the end 10- mayat any time be straightened or opened slightly and the absorbent introduced at that point. By dipping the entire receptacle in water the contents become filled therewith, and when the device is applied in use the evaporation of the water provides moisture to take the place of that which dries out of the tobacco or cigars.

It will now be seen that my invention not only provides a receptacle for holding the absorbent material, but also means in the nature of a catch for holding the lid in its closed position. It is simple in construction and obviously can be manufactured at very slight cost. The device maybe suitablyornamented or provided with advertising matter, thereby serving to convey information to the user as well as to perform its functions above noted. The embodiment which I have illustrated I regard merely as typical of my invention,but not as the only form in which the same may be made. In fact,it is capable of many modifications, and these I consider clearly within the scope of my invention.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a device of the kind described, a receptacle for holding absorbent material having means to engage the lid of a box, and means for engaging a side Wall of the box, whereby the lid is held in closed position, as set forth.

2. In a device of the kind described, a receptacle for holding absorbent material in combination with a socket for attaching the same to the lid of a box, and means for en-- gaginga side Wall of the box when the lid is in closed position, as set forth.

3. In a device of the kind described, a receptacle for holding absorbent material having an integral socket for engaging the lid of a box, and integral tongues adapted to grasp a side wallof the box when thelid is in closed position.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a device for dampening the contents of boxes,cumprising a blank having its side portions bent to form the side walls and top of a receptacle, one of said side walls having a projection bent to form a socket for engaging the lid of the box, and integral prongs bent to form a socket for engaging the side walls of the box when the lid is in closed position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

GEORGE D. WOODWORTI-I. 

